Section one
Goiter and Hyperthyroid - my personal experience story
Ultrasound
Comparison - results
before and after thyroid treatment
Misc. bits of thyroid information
Frequently Asked Thyroid Questions
Section two
Miscellaneous information about this website
Section three
Email
Copyright ©1998 -
2006
molly b. All Rights Reserved
Molly b.'s Goiter and Hyperthyroid Page 2
December 1997: I was scheduled for RAI ( Radioactive Iodine Therapy ) in early December. If the RAI worked, it might also shrink the goiter and cyst. I had to stop taking Tapazole 4 days before the appointment and then resume it 4 days after the RAI. The RAI was administered at the hospital in the nuclear medicine lab. I couldn't have anything to eat or drink from midnight the night before until the appointment time, but there was no hospital stay involved. The radioiodine was provided in what looked like an old soup tin - I'm sure it wasn't - and I had to sip it through a straw. This was followed by a couple of glasses of water. Then I went home again. I was told to have a TSH blood test every month. The December TSH results were normal.
February 1998: The specialist's secretary called and said that the January TSH level result was high. I was now hypothyroid. I had to stop taking Tapazole and begin 75 mgs of Synthroid daily. After 4 weeks I had to have another blood test. This would be necessary every four weeks, the Synthroid dosage to be adjusted as required, to give TSH level results in the euthyroid range. This was the expected result of the choices I had - either surgery to remove the thyroid or RAI to shut it down to stop the hyperthyroidism.
March 1998: TSH levels were within normal range. I noticed I felt much calmer than last year at this time when I was hyperthyroid. I was still trying to gain some weight. I had reached 108 pounds just before I started on Synthroid, but lost 5 pounds shortly after that. I remembered that when my mother had thyroid surgery, the specialist told her to make sure that she warned her children they would most likely develop thyroid problems eventually too. It seems that my thyroid condition occurred so slowly at first that I didn't notice the symptoms that I should have been watching for. Once the signs were obvious I was too slow-witted to identify what was happening. I guess the doctors I went to during that time for other things were too! If thyroid conditions run in your family try to make sure you pay attention to any symptoms that arise.
April 1998: TSH levels were .25. Normal levels for TSH tests here are .2 to 6.0. My Synthroid has been adjusted down to 0.05 mg from 0.075 mg. The doctor said the dosage works just opposite of what one might think - Lower thyroid hormone replacement dosages cause higher TSH values. See the FAQ page, question 5 for more about TSH levels.
May 1998: I have more energy, feel less tired and no longer have muscle aches. My eyes haven't felt irritated. I think there's less hair fallout than even a couple of weeks ago. I weigh 108 pounds - a slight gain. My fingernails have been growing fast and sometimes my voice is quite hoarse. I'm having trouble swallowing once in a while and there's some pain on the right side of my neck where the cyst is located. I've been getting very hungry at times. I've been waking early the last few days which may be caused by (not-thyroid-related) back pain. I've started going to a chiropractor for treatment of pain in my left shoulder blade - no positive results from the regular medical profession. The pain feels like there's a knife in my back. This has been an on and off problem for several years. Does somebody somewhere have a voodoo doll with my name on it?
June 1998: I heard nothing from the specialist after the May TSH test so I can only assume the results were in the normal range. I wonder what the T3 and T4 results would be if they were monitored too. I'm not sleeping in any better but I've gained another pound ( hurray - one more and I'll be at my old, normal weight ). I've recently figured out that I'm coughing at night and/or in the early morning sometimes. This has happened off and on for a long time - I'd blamed it on smoking too much the previous day. Funny how we blame smoking for a lot, but it's not always the cause. Coughing is probably waking me up. I guess it may be another symptom of a goiter and cyst.
July 1998: I returned from a few days' visit with my sister. I did a lot of walking and really noticed an improvement in my physical condition. A year ago I'd have been out of breath, had a pounding heart and aching leg muscles. If only I wasn't still waking up at 6 or 7 am every morning.
Copyright ©1998 - 2006 molly b. All Rights Reserved
